10 Orders
by Sweetiedogood
Summary: 10 linear stories surrounding Ichigo and Tatsuki based off of the 10 orders prompts on LiveJournal. Oneshots.


**Title: **Don't Cry

**Author: **Sweetiedogood

**Beta: **None

**Pairings/Characters: **Ichigo, Tatsuki

**Rating:** G

**Summary:** 10 stories centered around Ichigo and Tatsuki based off of the 10_orders prompts on LJ.

**Don't Cry**

Someone was crying; staring at their body hanging out of a window of the train. They'd tried to escape before their car wrecked. They failed. Surprisingly, Keigo was the first to move. Tatsuki jumped as the locomtion hissed loudly. Keigo muttered something about going to find his body, and wandered off. His words spurred Ichigo into action. His lips thinned to a grim line and he grabbed the hilt of his sword the bandages unraveling.

"If anyone is still attached to their chain, it would be your best bet to go find your body," he ordered. "However, if you're chain has been severed line up in front of me. I'll send you to heaven."

Tatsuki looked down at her own severed chain and her hands began to shake. Acrid smoke mingled with metallic blood and her stomach began to lurch.

"Ichigo's going on?" She cried out balling her hands into fists. Confusion whirled in her chest a dark and all encompassing hurricane; it began to ache. "You can't just drag normal people along on your adventures!" She roared squeezing her eyes shut as they began to prickle with tears.

"Fix it," she demanded knowing that he could. With her eyes open Tatsuki could clearly recall the dark fear she'd felt when Aizen approached her; the oppressive pressure his _presence _put on her soul making it impossible for her to move. She could clearly feel the way her soul groaned and keened with every step that he took towards her. Her demise was eminent. She knew that there was no way that any of them would get away of from him alive.

But she did, they all did-because of Ichigo. That's why she knew whatever happened with this train and their souls was not outside of his power.

"Ichigo are you listening to me?" She hollered tightening her fists. "Fix it!"

Slowly, as if moving through water Ichigo turned to her. The despondant look in his eyes made her knees buckle. Tatsuki fell to the ground as his crestfallen whisper washed over her.

"I can't."

"No," Tatsuki whispered to the ground. She sniffed, wiping her eyes roughly. She hadn't cried in years and she wouldn't start now. She was tough; she didn't cry, she changed things and made them better, but as the trembling in her hands made her arms shake and her silent tears became stuttering sobs Tatsuki realized that there was nothing she could do to make the situation better.

She punched the round. There was nothing that she could do; she was helpless. She was dead, and helpless. The noises of the world faded away as a pain in her chest intensified. Tatsuki bit her lip to keep from crying out. She couldn't hear Ichigo telling the other newly dead souls what to do. She didn't hear their screams or their cries-all she could think about was her own despair.

What about her parents? Tatsuki punched the ground again. They couldn't see souls. It wasn't like Ichigo who could still talk to Karen-chan. What about her _life?_ How was she supposed to become the best fighter in Japan if she was dead? The pain in her chest became excruating and she sasp clutching at her hear. She was so **weak**. First she was crying and now she couldn't handle a bit of pain. Her fist slammed into the ground again. Tatsuki groaned softly in pain as her tears pitter-pattered on the earth before her.

The sun disappeared and Tatsuki looked up startled, only to see an idiot with a giant sword blocking it.

"Tatsuki..."

"Don't Ichigo," Tatsuki commanded trying to control her sobs. She kept her eyes on the ground, there was no way she was going to let Ichigo see her cry.

Instead of leaving like he should, Ichigo crouched in front of her lifting her head with his hand.

"Don't cry," he commanded gently as he wiped away her tears. Tatsuki turned her head and he paused before griping her chin again and turning her so that she could look into his eyes.

"Don't cry," he urged firmly. "Death..." he trailed off and looked at her chain his eyes becoming shadowed. "Death isn't the worst thing that can happen to you." He looked back up at her his eyes pleaded and Tatsuki immediately recalled the first Hollow roar she heard. She wasn't an empathetic person by any means, but the pain in the roar made her body quiver.

"I couldn't..." she protested softly and Ichigo lifted her chain. It was shorter now than it was before.

"You could," he said seriously. "But you won't." He paused sighing and rubbed the back of his neck. "We'll get through this-Tatsuki-chan." Tatsuki lifted her eyes from her chain to his remorseful but steady brown eyes and exhaled. The pain in her chest subsided and she nodded and wiping at her eyes once more.

"Thanks," she muttered sniffing and standing. "But don't get used to trying to console me," she insisted. "Soon as we get to Soul Society and I become a Shinigami-I'm kicking your ass again."

Ichigo scoffed, "Yeah right."

Tatsuki grinned at him widely as she punched him in the arm. "We both know the reason you stopped coming to the dojo after you beat me that one time is because it was a fluke. Then you got that giant sword. We'll see what happens when I get a giant sword of mine own."

Ichigo snorted and Tatsuki breathed easy. It was almost like when they were children, except there was no way Ichigo would have been so confident. They existed like that, for a moment-both of them letting the rays of the sun burn their bad thoughts away.

Someone in the background coughed.

"Um... aren't you supposed to be sending us to heaven?"

Tatsuki sent a glare in the direction of the voice. She didn't know who said it, but several people stepped back. Next to her Ichigo sighed.

"Hurry up and become a Shinigami... so you can do these things with me."


End file.
